


now where am i going?

by SilverMoonSky



Series: ML Oneshots [72]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkwardness, Blushing, Cute, F/M, Fluff, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:20:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: An akuma is upset with holiday traditions going to waste. They’ve trapped the two of them in a place with only one holiday tradition around. There’s nothing else around them, no other obvious way to get out. . . .“So we have to kiss under the mistletoe.”Adrien’s head snaps towards Ladybug. She’s still not looking at him; her gaze is focused on her hands, and, as he stares at her, she looks up at him with what seems like nervousness on her face.Oh, no.---Or, in which an akuma traps Ladybug and Adrien in a place where the only way to get out. . . . is to kiss under the mistletoe.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: ML Oneshots [72]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1643566
Comments: 23
Kudos: 81





	now where am i going?

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this for a history assignment. What am I even doing with my life. At least this is my last assignment of the year with this teacher, so I will uh, never have to face her again after I turn this in :P
> 
> I hope you all enjoy some Ladrien fluff <3

“Y-You know,” Adrien says nervously, staring up at the piece of plant above their heads, “they say it’s bad luck to not kiss under mistletoe.”

He’s the one to break their silence. At his words, Ladybug looks up from where she’s standing several meters away from him. She bites her lip as she observes the area around them. They’re both trapped in a weird, void-like place. Everywhere around them is white, with the only splash of color being a familiar green plant hanging above their heads.

_ Mistletoe. _

Adrien doesn’t remember what happened. One moment, he’s rushing down the street, trying to find a place where he can transform to help fight the supervillain by his partner’s side, and the next, Ladybug barrels into him as she attempts to shove him out of the akuma’s way.

But by the time she reacts, it’s too late.

The akuma’s ray had hit both of them, and in an instant, the streets of Paris vanished all around them.

Now, the two of them stand in this void-like place—it reminds Adrien too much of the place he’d been sent to when he’d been hit by Pixelator—with no way out.

Just him. And Ladybug.

With a piece of mistletoe hanging above their heads.

Perfect.

“Why is it bad luck?” Ladybug asks curiously.

Adrien takes a deep breath. Judging by the anxious look on Ladybug’s face, he’s sure she isn’t going to like where he’s going to go with this. But if his theory about the akuma is correct. . . .

“Well,” he says, “there are a lot of reasons. Some people think the origins of kissing with mistletoe has to do with a tale in Norse mythology, where the God Baldur’s mother, Frigg, casted a spell to make sure that no plant on earth could be used as a weapon against him.”

“But the one plant the spell doesn’t affect is mistletoe,” Ladybug says, her eyes widening. “I remember hearing about this tale.”

He nods. “Yeah, but in the end, a spear made out of mistletoe is what ends up killing Baldur. I don’t exactly remember the details, but Frigg ends up declaring the mistletoe to be a symbol of love after her son’s death, and promises to kiss anyone who passes underneath it. But,” he adds, “it was later proven that this tale doesn’t really have anything to do with kissing under mistletoe.”

“Oh? Then what?”

Surprisingly, talking about this helps. It distracts Adrien from the fact that he has nowhere to transform, that he’s trapped in this space with his superhero partner—even worse, who also happens to be the love of his life—that the akuma is continuing to wreak havoc on the rest of Paris.

The sooner they can get out of here, the better.

“In reality, the earliest references of kissing under the mistletoe comes from uh, 1784? It comes from a verse of a song.”

Ladybug nods. “Oh, makes sense! What’s the verse?”

Adrien clears his throat. “I think it goes something like: what all the men, Jem, John, and Joe, cry, ‘what good-luck has sent ye? And kiss beneath the mistletoe, the girl not turned of twenty.” He pauses. “That isn’t exactly accurate, but—”

“No, no, I get it,” Ladybug says. “So it seems to be that if you resisted a kiss under the mistletoe, it would be considered bad luck?”

He nods.

She looks uneasy as she glances up at the mistletoe hanging above them. “That. . . . is interesting.”

Adrien sheepishly rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. “Traditions will be traditions, I suppose.”

“How do you even know this stuff?”

In an instant, Adrien ducks his head, feeling his cheeks burn with color. “Oh, I uh, had to do research on this for a project for school!”

He hopes she doesn’t notice the sudden change in color on his face. Because there is no way he’s going to admit the  _ real _ reason he knows. That would involve telling her about all daydreams, the carefully-constructed dates planned in his head, the fantasies that run through his mind at night as he’s trying to sleep, imagining them meeting under mistletoe and tasting the feel of her lips on his and—

His face burns harder.

No, he decides, he’s not going to indulge her on those details.

“Oh,” is all Ladybug says in response. By the time he’s calmed down and looks back up, he sees Ladybug turned away from him. She seems to be fiddling with her hands.

“So, um, this akuma seems to be very particular about traditions.”

“Yeah,” Adrien says, “the akuma was upset with their family, apparently, and was worried their holiday traditions were going to waste.”

“Yes,” she says, “but the only holiday tradition I can see around here is, uh. . . .”

“Mistletoe,” he finishes, glancing up at the plant.

“Yeah.”

Adrien can tell they’re both thinking the same thing.

An akuma is upset with holiday traditions going to waste. They’ve trapped the two of them in a place with only one holiday tradition around. There’s nothing else around them, no other obvious way to get out. . . .

“So we have to kiss under the mistletoe.”

Adrien’s head snaps towards Ladybug. She’s still not looking at him; her gaze is focused on her hands, and, as he stares at her, she looks up at him with what seems like nervousness on her face.

_ Oh, no. _

Of  _ all _ the traditions the akuma could’ve zapped them with, did they have to zap them with mistletoe?

“I—”

“W-We don’t have to do it if you’re not comfortable!” Ladybug exclaims, her eyes widening as she sees the disbelief on his face. “Consent is important, I-I just thought—”

“I’m fine with it.”

It’s Ladybug’s turn to look surprised. “R-Really?”

He feels the blush return to his face. “I, well, I guess if it’s the only way out of here—”

“I don’t want you to do this just because it’s the only way to get out of here,” Ladybug says. If Adrien had been looking, he would’ve noticed she looked just as flushed as he did. “We can figure something else out. I can use my lucky charm, or—”

“But I want to,” he blurts out.

There’s silence, for a second.

Ladybug squeaks in surprise, and Adrien feels all his resolve crumble as he claps a hand over his mouth.

There is  _ no _ way he just told Ladybug he’d be willing to kiss her.

Not that he  _ wouldn’t _ be willing to kiss her—because of course he would!—but the fact that he just told her, the fact that she now  _ knows, _ and might figure out—

“Okay.”

“I-okay?” Adrien glances at her. “You mean, you’re okay with this, too?”

Ladybug ducks her head. “I, uh, I’m fine with it,” she mutters.

“Like. . . .” he hesitates, unsure of what her answer will be. “Fine as in, because it’s the only way to get out of here? Or uh, fine as in you  _ actually _ want to, um.”

_ Kiss. _

“Um, b-both?”

_ Oh. _

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

_ There is no way this is happening. _

The two of them stand in silence, mulling over their recent revelations. For Adrien, at least, everything within him is screaming about what had just happened. He can’t believe it. He can’t believe he just admitted this would be fine, and, looking at the way Ladybug is standing next to him, a blush on her cheeks as she buries her face against her hands, there's no doubt she’s feeling the same way.

Of all the ways Adrien had thought this scenario would go, this hadn’t been one of them. It’s like all of his fantasies, all of his daydreams and yearnings, have come to life.

_ She just admitted she would be willing to kiss you. _

Adrien clears his throat. “So, uh, we should probably, um, hurry up. Because of the akuma!” he adds hastily, realizing his words might make him sound a bit  _ too _ eager. “The akuma needs to be defeated, and we need to get out of here so we—I mean, uh,  _ you _ —can defeat them, because you know, it’s your job, and. . . .” he trails off, his face burning for what feels like the millionth time that day.

Ladybug snaps out of whatever daze she’s in, and her lips curl up into a smile as she looks up at him with amusement. “You’re right.”

She turns, walking towards where the mistletoe rests above them. He follows her. Soon enough, the two of them are standing below the mistletoe, awkwardly facing each other in silence.

Adrien’s gaze travels to her lips and he gulps.

_ Just a peck. _

Right? It only has to be a peck?

Is that what she wants? She  _ does _ want this, right? It’s not just his imagination that told him that?

Before he can overthink it and panic, Adrien notices Ladybug already moving closer, sliding her eyes shut, and tilting her head.

Adrien simply stares.

He panics.

_ Oh gosh how the heck am I supposed to kiss her this can’t be happening you can’t just _ —

Suddenly he feels a small force— _ Plagg, _ he realizes quick enough—gently push him forward. Adrien’s eyes flutter shut, and he squeaks in surprise as he tilts his head, his nose brushing against Ladybug’s. He instantly winces at the awkwardness.

But soon enough, their lips do meet. A jolt runs through him at the touch, and he lets himself melt into it, letting himself immerse in the feeling of his lips brushing softly against hers.

All too soon, the atmosphere around them is changing, and she pulls away. Adrien’s eyes open to see they are no longer in the void-like place, but rather, they’re back on the same street of Paris they’d been on when they’d been transported.

The illusion has shattered; the memory has been made.

It feels like it’s been an eternity and simply a few seconds all at once.

The moment Ladybug seems to find her footing, she steps away from him, pulling out her yo-yo. The shyness is gone; in place, her expression has hardened, signifying she means business. She glances briefly at him.

“Will you be okay here?” she asks, not meeting his eyes. If Adrien wasn’t so distraught himself, he would’ve noticed there was still a hint of a blush splattered on her cheeks.

He nods. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” Ladybug turns away, but before she throws her yo-yo, she pauses and looks back at him. Opens her mouth as if she’s about to say something, then closes it, as if she’s hesitating. Adrien watches as she does this several times, trying to find the right words.

“Thank you, Adrien.”

All she says is those three words, and yet, he feels flustered all over again.

_ She’s thanking you. _

He doesn’t manage to find the words he wants to say before Ladybug flings her yo-yo and zips away.

And he stands there.

He stands there, his mind replaying what just happened in his head, over and over again. He stands there, even as Plagg zips out of his pocket, narrowing his eyes at his chosen.

“Kid, you have an akuma to fight.”

He knows he does.

But all Adrien can do is stand there, brushing his fingers against his lips, selfishly hoping that maybe, just maybe, he’ll get a moment like that with Ladybug once again.

**Author's Note:**

> Join the [Miraculous Fanworks Discord Server](https://discord.gg/mlfanworks) if you’re a writer, reader, or artist! It’s a lovely community filled with even lovelier people <3


End file.
